Page 1 of 2 Next >>For the 1964 season a replacement of the 250 GTO was planned to race in the GT class. Ferrari's first bid was the mid-engined 250 LM, but due to the limited numbers built the FIA refused to homologate it for GT-racing. The limited time available forced Ferrari to continue racing with a slightly revised version of the GTO. A new body with cues inspired by the 250 LM were fitted to four old chassis and three new chassis were constructed and fitted with the '64-style' body. The 250 GT showed its age and was beaten on several occasions by Shelby's Cobra Daytonas.

When Ferrari launched a replacement for the 250 GT, the 275 GTB, it was only logical that the new GT racer would be derived from this model. However GT racing's popularity was fading when the world's focus turned to the prototype class in which Ferrari was faced with stiff competition from Ford, so the 275 GTB racer was not a priority. A batch of four special lightweight racers was constructed, but it faced homologation difficulties; its low weight compared to the road cars was the biggest problem. After the weight was increased considerably, the four were homologated late in 1965. After the problems with the four 'specials' Ferrari decided to construct a competition version that was only slightly modified and weighed as much as the regular short-nose 275 GTB. Of this a batch of 11 cars was built, these are easily identifiable by extra vents in the rear wings.

Now we come to the third series of competition 275 GTBs and the only ones known as the 275 GTB/C. Twelve were constructed in between the end of the 275 GTB production run and the start of the 275 GTB/4 run. Even though it closely resembled the road-going 275 GTB, not one body-panel was the same and under the lightweight body very little reminded of the road car.

Mauro Forghieri designed a special lightweight version of the 275 GTB chassis. Regular suspension was fitted, but it was made slightly stiffer by the addition of extra springs. Scaglietti bodied the chassis with an ultra thin aluminium body; the panels were about half as thick as the ones used on the GTO and the Cobra. Even leaning on the 275 GTB/C would dent the body and the entire rear section was reinforced by fiberglass to prevent it from flexing at the slightest impact. In all this focus on saving weight made a difference of over 150 kg compared to the alloy bodied road cars. Page 1 of 2 Next >>